The British Empire Archives - Aspects of History

How Protestantism Became a Global Religion – An Interview with Alec Ryrie

Protestantism’s early movements across the globe reveal a tangled world of rivalry with Catholicism, complicity with empire and slavery, and failures that exposed the limits of Europe’s religious imagination – all discussed between the author and the Editor.

Alec Ryrie

That word, mission, might make you think of Robert De Niro or Jeremy Irons, perhaps a young Liam Neeson, in Jesuit robes clambering up the Iguazu Falls in deepest South America, but, forgotten and less-documented as their efforts may be, there was a Protestant...

AoH Book Club: Gautam Hazarika on The Forgotten Indian Prisoners of World War II

In conversation with Phil Craig on the Aspects of History podcast, the historian addresses the experiences of Indian POWs across Southeast Asia, from the difficult choice of joining the Indian National Army to escapes, captivity, the impact on families and the ways their stories have been remembered.

Gautam Hazarika

Hello Gautam – a year on from publication, it seems the perfect opportunity to talk to you about The Forgotten Indian Prisoners of World War II: Surrender, Loyalty, Betrayal and Hell, our Book Club pick for August. What first drew you into the history of the Indian...

AoH Book Club: Phil Craig on 1945: The Reckoning: War, Empire and the Struggle for a New World

A year on from publication, the historian explains to the Editor how the final months of the Second World War exposed tensions between Britain and the Allies’ wartime ideals and imperial ambitions.

Phil Craig

Great to have you in the interviewee’s chair for once, Phil. So 1945: The Reckoning has, a few months ago, celebrated its 1st birthday. It was the culmination of a kind of trilogy on Britain and the Second World War. What drew you to the final year of the war, and why...

The Coming of the Railway: A New Global History, 1750-1850, by David Gwyn

A wide-ranging account of how innovation, economic conditions and ambition transformed early railways into a global revolution that reshaped the modern world.

Michael Mccomb

When Britain’s history is told, the railway is usually suddenly introduced in the early to mid-19th century. Yet long before this, it was quietly developing, shaping the future of transport. This early period of rail development is the subject of David Gwyn’s latest...

The Coming of the Railway – A Conversation with David Gwyn

The historian explains to Michael Mccomb how railways evolved from wooden structures into modern transport systems, altering industry, commerce and society across Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries.

David Gwyn

Welcome to Aspects of History, David. Could you provide our readers with an outline of your latest book, The Coming of the Railway: A New Global History 1750-1850? The book sets out to trace the transformation of a mechanical handling system into the main overland...

The World’s Reformation: How Protestantism Became a Global Religion, by Alec Ryrie

A nuanced and globe-spanning examination of how Protestantism’s often chaotic missionary efforts helped shape the early modern world.

Zeb Baker-Smith

In a secular age, religious history can feel slightly tangential and recondite, particularly when set against the commercial and colonial designs of fledgling empires in the early modern age. Very well, except that is missing the point. Reformation Europe remains a...

Building Britannia: A History of Britain in 25 Buildings, by Steven Parissien

British history is traced through 25 iconic buildings – from Maiden Castle to 30 St Mary Axe – in this blend of architectural perusal and cultural insight.

Paul Strathern

Dr. Steven Parissien’s latest retelling of history through architecture, Building Britannia: A History of Britain in Twenty-Five Buildings, begins with Maiden Castle in Dorset, which dates from around 600 BC. In the words of John Cooper Powys, this resembles ‘the...

Building Britannia: A Conversation with Steven Parissien

The historian explains his use of architecture and landmarks in telling the story of Britain’s social and political history to author Paul Strathern.

Steven Parissien

Welcome, Steven, to Aspects of History. What was it that first led you into the study of architecture and cultural history? Which came first? I was always fascinated by British history and British architecture from my earliest years, though I’m not sure why: no-one in...

What Makes an Iconic Structure?

Britain’s truly iconic buildings are those whose architecture, symbolism and evolving histories have allowed them to transcend aesthetics and become expressions of national identity.

Steven Parissien

‘Iconic’ is a rather overused and clichéd word these days. It’s probably quite helpful, then, to unpack exactly what we mean when we use this term for the architecture of the past or present – or rather, what we ought to mean. Many new buildings in Britain’s towns and...

No More Napoleons: How Britain Managed Europe from Waterloo to World War One, by Andrew Lambert

As debate intensifies over Britain’s role in world security, Andrew Lambert offers a timely reassessment of the country’s 19th-century grand strategy.

Michael Barritt

It seems apt that the paperback edition of Andrew Lambert’s gripping analysis in No More Napoleons should be published as Britain’s contribution to the preservation of the security of the continent of Europe, and indeed the wider world, is under debate and our very...